Hijab allowed with police uniform in Norway

The Norwegian government announced on Feb.4 that it will allow Muslim women police officers to wear the Islamic head scarf.

The question of wearing a hijab in the police came up last October, when Keltoum Hasnaoui Missoum (23) from Sandnes in Rogaland, originally from Algeria, sent a letter to the police directorate. She asked how it will be accepted if she wore a hijab with her police uniform.

“After advice from police management, it has been decided that rules on police uniforms will be modified to allow for the wearing of a religious scarf with the uniform,” the Minister of Justice and the Police, Knut Storberget said in a statement.

The police management said it was in favor of permitting the scarf to be worn with the uniform in order to improve the possibility of recruiting in Norway’s Muslim community.

“We think it’s necessary to recruit widely and to develop a police force which reflects all classes in society, regardless of beliefs and ethnicity, which is more important than demanding a neutral uniform,” wrote police chief Ingelin Killengreen.

Several other European countries, including Sweden and Britain, have already allowed the wearing of religious head gear by their police officers.

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